Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

You might have called us daft, but the sun had been shining amidst a sea of blue this morning -- it would have been criminal to have taken an umbrella. But Mandy and me felt the change just after we got off the bus, on the way home from uni. Without any warning, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped. It might have been August, but I gave a little shiver.

'I guess you need the shitty weather, Debbie, or you'd not be grateful when the sun comes out,' Mandy said to me with a giggle.

I glanced sideways at her -- taking in the wide band of pale skin in between her white crop top and ripped denim shorts, and the long stretches of leg that reached right down to her colourful flip flops.

'I'd kind of like some advance notice though,' I replied, taking a pointed look upwards. 'I could swear those black clouds weren't there a minute ago.'

I didn't have far to walk -- ten minutes or so, and it was about as far again to Mandy's. I guess that's what she gets for living in a slightly nicer area -- everyone's too posh to get the bus so they don't go too near. Anyway, I had a bit more protection than her too -- a regular tight T-shirt, black leggings and trainers. Where Mandy seemed to have gone all out to be sexy, I'd just pulled on comfy stuff without giving it much thought.

Now, our weather does tend to be a bit all over the place, but what it lacks in predictability, it makes up for in moderation. We get plenty of miserable days, but nothing too extreme. Or so I thought. Anyway, I wasn't concerned in the slightest when I felt the first few splashes on my face, or even when I heard a crack of thunder behind us.

'Thank God we're nearly home,' I said. 'We should miss the worst of it.' By this point it was decidedly chilly, but a few drops of rain weren't going to kill us.

But even before we reached the end of the street, I was wondering if I'd been too optimistic. Suddenly, the rain was coming down thick and fast. I could feel myself getting wet all over. The water had already soaked through everything I was wearing. Even my feet were starting to feel a bit soggy.

'Thank God I didn't wear much today,' Mandy said. It was only when I gave her a quizzical look that she added, 'Isn't it better to get your skin wet than to take a bath in your clothes?'

'Either way, I'd like the water to be a bit warmer,' I answered, 'but I don't remember the last time I forgot to strip off before getting in the shower.'

'Hey, come this way then,' Mandy said, grabbing my hand and leading me into the local park -- we'd just been passing the entrance. 'Now's your chance -- get those soaking leggings off and see if it feels better.'

'What a good idea,' I answered sarcastically. We both instinctively took refuge under a tree. 'I've never been so wet,' I continued as I took hold of the bottom of my T-shirt and squeezed it in both fists. A stream of water fell on my feet.

'This is fucking crackers,' Mandy said. 'Two minutes in the rain and we might as well have jumped in the pond.'

'Don't let me stop you,' I said, gesturing across the grass to where we could see the ducks swimming around.

I spotted a woman with a dog hurriedly leaving the park by the far entrance, but otherwise it was just us two -- we had the whole place to ourselves.

Just at that moment, there was a flash followed quickly by a loud crack.

'You know, sheltering under a tree when lightning's this close isn't the brainiest thing we've ever done, is it?' I asked.

'I hope my phone's OK,' Mandy said extracting it from the pocket of her shorts with some difficulty. 'It's supposed to be waterproof, and I guess this proves it.' She held it up to me -- it was still working, despite being covered in spots of water.

I took my mini backpack off my shoulders -- it was only just big enough to hold a phone, my keys and not much else. I felt inside for my phone -- I didn't know if it was waterproof or not, but I didn't need to worry as thankfully it had stayed dry.

There was another flash and an almost instantaneous bang. The rain was coming down heavier than ever now -- I could see the water jumping as it hit the path, and the grass was rapidly turning into a swamp.

'You know what,' Mandy began, 'we couldn't get any wetter if we tried. Shall we just make a run for it?'

'You're on,' I said, and, without waiting for a reply, I set off at a jog.

The road was already starting to look like a river, with streams of water flowing down each side. No one else seemed to be out and about -- either they'd got lucky, or had paid more attention to the weather forecast than us, or had already found refuge somewhere or other. There weren't even any cars out -- maybe their owners didn't fancy driving through floods. I turned round to see Mandy doing her best to run while keeping her flip flops on her feet. Her white top clung tightly to her skin.

'If you're going to be that slow, maybe I better leave you to swim home by yourself,' I teased.

'Fuck it,' Mandy said. She lifted up first one foot then the other, and took her flips flops in her hand. 'Let's run.'

She was away and past me before I'd begun to move, but I didn't get the impression that she was finding running bare foot to be much of an improvement on the flip flops. I jogged behind her, keeping a safe enough distance not to get splashed, but it was easy enough to keep up. I could see she was doing her best to run on the balls of her feet, but she also had her head down watching carefully where she put them.

I'm not sure if we got even wetter from the running than we would have if we'd walked, but I was so soaked through by the time we turned onto my street that I could have stayed outside all afternoon and not got any more soaked. Still, if I hadn't been running, I would have been shivering.

Now, I'm not a mean person, but I'm not beyond having a bit of fun now and again, so I stepped up the pace and sprinted the last hundred metres or so. I fished my keys out of the bottom of my bag and quickly let myself in before closing the door behind me. I was glad to be out of the rain, but water was dripping down my face and I was beginning to make a bit of a wet spot on the carpet. 'Hiya,' I called out, but there was no reply. It looked like no one else was in.

There was a banging on the door, so I slipped the chain on and opened the door as far as it would go. 'What's up?' I asked Mandy innocently through the crack.

'Let me in you fucking bitch,' was the charming reply.

'Can you wait till I've got dried off?' I asked.

Mandy replied by throwing a flip flop through the gap.

'OK, I'll let you in on condition you don't traipse water everywhere,' I said, trying to sound charitable. I opened the door and Mandy stepped inside.

'You're a lot soggier than I am,' she said. 'All I really need is a towel.'

'Even so, you're not coming any further in those wet clothes,' I said, as I began to pull my T-shirt over my head. I dropped it on the floor and started to take off my leggings, being careful not to pull down my thong at the same time, but Mandy didn't make any move to get undressed herself. That more or less confirmed what I'd already guessed -- she was braless, and maybe knickerless too.

'What's up?' I asked with a smile as I pulled off my sopping socks.

Mandy looked a bit shocked, and it occurred to me then that I might be showing a bit more than I intended -- I wasn't bothered about being in my underwear in front of Mandy -- she'd seen that much of me plenty, but I didn't know what effect all that water would have had on my knickers -- could Mandy see right through them?

Well, I didn't want to lose face, and it was a bit too late to worry now anyway, so I resisted looking down to check. 'I'll just go grab some towels. Don't you dare budge off the doormat until you've got your wet things off.'

I headed upstairs. Before I got the towels, I took a good look in the bathroom mirror, and yes, my aureoles and neatly trimmed pubes were clearly visible -- the water had made both top and bottom more or less transparent. This made me even more determined to have a bit of fun with Mandy, so I grabbed us both a pair of towels and headed straight back downstairs.

'What are you waiting for?' I asked. Mandy was stood where I'd left her, but hadn't taken off either top or bottom. Instead of giving her the towels, I put them down on a chair out of her reach, and began to dry my own hair.

'What do you think I'm wearing underneath?' she asked hesitantly.

'Wasn't it you who said less was better when you're wet?' I replied straight off.

'Well, pass me the towels then,' she snapped back.

That seemed quite a reasonable request -- there was no reason she couldn't preserve her modesty by stripping off under a bath towel. But I was kind of enjoying the game, and didn't want to end it that easily.

'Fucking hell, Mandy! You can't dry yourself properly with your kit on.' As if to prove my point, I tied the first towel round my head and reached back to unclip my bra. I could feel butterflies in my stomach -- I'd not shown any of my friends my tits before, but then again, my bra was pretty close to 100% see-through, and I didn't really know why I shouldn't. Still, it was one of those unwritten rules we never acknowledged. Anyway, I pulled it off and dropped it on the floor before beginning to dry off my shoulders, arms and chest. I deliberately didn't make any effort to cover up, but just stood there, eyes on Mandy, as though this was the most natural thing in the world, something we did every day.

Mandy didn't say anything, but just stared back, kind of like she didn't know what to say. I could see her eyes drop down to take in my chest, before coming back up to make contact with mine again. I was a bit worried about what the rest of my friends would say if they heard about what I was doing, but I realised I was enjoying myself all the same. In for a penny, in for a pound, I said to myself, and reached down to take hold of my knickers. I paused for a second, kind of wondering if I'd gone mad. Looking up, I made eye contact with Mandy -- she was watching me with a bit of a bemused smile. Thinking to myself that I'd given her a chance to object, I pulled my knickers down and let them fall to the floor. The butterflies in my stomach were flapping away like mad, but I also felt a thrill course up my spine. I had meant to tease Mandy about her being too shy to show me any skin, and I'd ended up going starkers for her instead, but I had no doubt that I was enjoying this way more than she was. I wanted to act cool, but a warm feeling in my cheeks told me that I wasn't doing a very good job of hiding my embarrassment, while at the same time I couldn't stop grinning.

'Do your family normally strip off at the front door, Debbie?' Mandy asked.

I was tempted to make up some bullshit, but I ended up replying honestly. 'No, but there's a first time for everything.' I continued to dry my legs and feet. 'There, all done,' I said, dropping the towel on the floor and stretching my arms up in the air, giving Mandy an unimpeded view of my whole body. Having the towel on my head didn't seem right so I pulled that off, before doing a quick spin so Mandy could see me all round. 'Actually, I think I kind of like it. Do you mind if stay like this for a bit?'

'Be my guest, just so long as I can have a towel myself before I die of hypothermia,' she replied.

'Thanks,' I said, passing her a towel. 'I mean that too.'

Mandy wrapped the bath towel round herself and carefully removed her crop top and shorts. I passed her the hand towel, with which she began to dry her hair and face.

'I'll just put these in the tumble dryer,' I said, gathering up both my and her clothes and my towels. I headed off to the utility room, feeling quite naughty as I walked through the kitchen -- it was broad daylight and if one of the neighbours at the back had been looking, they'd have got an eyeful. Still, I was liking this enough that I didn't really care.

The towels weren't really wet enough to need drying, but I put them in anyway, just so I'd have to return naked as a jay bird, like it or not. I hesitated before opening the door to the hall -- Mum and Dad were out at work, but I didn't have a clue where my brother was. For all I knew he could have come back right now -- then I wouldn't half have some explaining to do. I pictured him looking me up and down, a shocked look on his face, and I felt a wave of terror coursed through me, but I also realised the grin on my face got bigger too. It was scary how much I was intoxicated by my little adventure -- would this be a one off, or would I be addicted to exhibitionism from now on?

Well, they say things happen for a reason, so I decided to leave it all to fate. I opened kitchen door and saw Mandy standing where I'd left her, but no longer dripping water everywhere. Both her hair and her body were wrapped in towels, so there was a fair bit less of her on show than there had been when we'd been out and about. Her flip flops and my sodden trainers were lying on the ground by her feet. I realised I should have put them in the utility until they'd dried off a bit. It was tempting to make another trip there and back, but all of a sudden, my bravado deserted me. 'Would you mind putting them in the utility?' I asked. I didn't wait for a reply, but quickly scarpered upstairs, wondering just how much I was putting on show beyond my bare bum.

I dashed into my room, pushed the door shut behind me and dashed over to my chest of drawers, desperate to get at least some undies on before Mandy arrived. As it happened, I was just clipping my bra on as Mandy opened the door.

'Got shy all of a sudden, have we?' she asked, pointedly looking me up and down. Despite being in a hurry, I'd managed to find a matching set of lacy pink lingerie -- probably the sexiest pair I owned.

'I won't tell a lie, so yes I have,' I replied. I paused for a second. 'Mandy, you won't tell anyone about my stupid stunt, will you? I don't know what got into me.'

'Come on, Debbie. We're both girls -- what's to be ashamed of?' she answered, moving to sit down on the edge of my bed. But I noticed that she put one hand on the knot in the top of the towel, and used the other to smooth down the bottom -- she wasn't taking any chances. She sat upright, with her legs tightly together.

'If that's the case, I'll have the towels back now you're all dry.'

Instead of replying, Mandy grinned, and looked down at herself. She then made firm eye contact with me. 'I'm kind of jealous -- but maybe I'm too chicken to follow your lead.'

'Maybe?' I asked pointedly.

'Maybe.'

There followed a moment's silence, as we resumed our intense eye contact, before we both burst out laughing.

'You know, you've got a nice body,' Mandy said after a minute. 'Feel free to show it off any time you like.'

That made me smile -- and it wasn't a nervous grin this time either. I guess I was fairly body-confident. I mean, I wasn't exactly slim -- I had a stomach for sure, but I caught guys checking me out often enough that I didn't need to worry.

'Stop changing the subject,' I said. 'Isn't it your turn to show me yours?'

'It's a bit cold, though, isn't it?' Mandy objected. 'And if I do take this towel off, I don't trust you not to run off with it.'

She was right -- it was still bucketing it down outside, and it was definitely a lot cooler too. And yes, I was having mischievous thoughts.

'Let's get back to that maybe,' I parried, keen to stop the conversation moving on. I sat down on the floor in front of Mandy, and looked up at her, deliberately dropping my eyes to the bottom of her towel and then raising them again to her face.

There was silence between us for a moment, then Mandy took hold of the bottom corner of her towel and began to lift it, before dropping it again and holding it in place with both hands.

I stood up in front of her. 'Would it help if I went first?' I asked.

'Didn't you already do that?' she replied with a bit of a giggle.

I could feel the moment slipping away. Wherever this had been going, it seemed like this might be the end of it. But then it turned out Mandy had a surprise in store for me. She reached out both hands, and took mine in hers, gently pulling me towards her. I took a step forwards, and sat astride her knees, turning my face towards hers. Our eyes were just inches apart. I could feel her breath on my face.

The next thing I knew, she'd put her hands gently on each side of my face, and leant forward until our lips touched. A bit of a shudder went through my body -- this wasn't what I'd been expecting. I'd never kissed a girl before, and hadn't really thought I wanted to. Mandy kept quite still, no wonder doubting if she'd made a faux pas.

It's a day of first I said to myself, and I gently slid my tongue between her lips, savouring the slightly rough texture. This seemed to be all the cue Mandy needed, and I soon felt her tongue making contact with my own. That was the moment I resolved to put my reservations to one side, and just let things take their natural course.

What happened from then on is all a bit of a blur, but it wasn't long before I was kneeling on the floor, gently licking Mandy's most private place, before getting carried away and going at it full pelt. I don't think I'll ever forget the taste, or the feeling of freedom that washed over me. Yes, freedom. I was on my knees with my face in my best friend's crotch, and didn't feel the need to be ashamed about anything.

It wasn't long before Mandy had returned the favour, and we were lying face to face under the covers, her naked flesh pressed against mine.

'I didn't know you were interested in girls,' I whispered to her, and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek.

'I'm not,' she replied. 'Just you.'